DATES TO REMEMBER

1. Spend quality time with your child.
2. Create a positive environment, where there are more positive comments (such as "Good job") than negative comments (e.g. "No, stop that").
3. Always tell your child how important he/she is.
4. Do homework with your child. It shows your child how much you care about his/her education. It also helps you to keep up with your child’s progress.
5. Reward your child for achievements. For example, give him/her a special treat when he/she gets all the spelling words correct, or behaves well in school for the week.
6. Include your child in decisions around the home. This could be as simple as "What would you like for dinner?", or on a larger scale such as asking his/her opinion when rearranging furniture or buying a new car (however, always keep in mind that your say as parent is the final decision).
7. Have consequences for your child's behaviours, and make sure that the child knows the consequences. For example, "When you jump on your bed, you go to the corner", or "When you do your homework, you will get ice-cream".
8. Contact people involved with your child, regularly. This is important as "...it takes a village to raise a child".
9. Say what you mean, and mean what you say (e.g. if you promise your child a trip to the ice-cream shop for a reward, make sure you take him/her).
10. Give your child a hug!

DEFINITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Down Syndrome
This is the most common form of mental slowness or retardation. These children are slower than others in learning to use their bodies. There are also certain physical signs or problems. The baby does not develop normally in the womb because of an error in the "chromosomes" (material in each cell of the body that determines what a baby will be and look like).

Learning Disability
A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. A child with a Learning Disability has at least average potential and yet has some problems that interferes with normal learning.

Amblyopia
Amblyopia (Lazy eye) is a term used to describe a reduction in visual acuity without other signs of eye abnormality. In other words, vision is impaired despite a normal cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve, and vision loss cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses. Amblyopia occurs as a consequence of prolonged blurred or absent retinal images in children younger than 9 years of age.

Some causes of Amblyopia include strabismus, congenital cataracts, cloudy cornea, droopy eyelid, unequal vision and uncorrected nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Amblyopia may occur in various degrees depending on the severity of the underlying problem. Some patients just experience a partial loss; others are only able to recognize motion.

TREATMENTS
The best approach is prevention in early childhood. This involves proper refraction of unequal refractive errors, early removal of a cataract, that is impairing vision, and correction of the strabismus.

Once these treatments have been administered, the child still may need therapy to strengthen vision in the “lazy eye”. By using an occlusive patch on the stronger eye and / or glasses or contact lenses on the weaker eye, the child is forced to fixate with the weaker eye. In general the younger the child, the more effective and rapid the response to occlusive therapy.

If you have any questions, contact your pediatrician, ophthalmologist, family doctor, or the Education Department (Programme for the Visually Impaired).

SUPPORT

Parent Teachers Association
Parents or guardians automatically become members of the association once their children are attending the school. LHS teachers are also members. PTA meetings are held on the last Monday in each month. Social evenings and picnics are planned, periodically. Letters and brochures are sent out when necessary. Class teachers arrange case conferences, reporting sessions and home visits, when necessary.

Voluntary Help
The school welcomes the assistance from those members in the community who have a desire to become involved in our school. This may be done through contacting the Principal, in advance. Donations of cash and/or kind are always appreciated.

Many service club organizations become involved with the children through the sponsorship of social functions and field trips, purchasing equipment for needy children and providing incentives for "trying" children.

LINKS TO SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

• Special Olympics
• Information on health issues
• Family Education Network
• Information on keeping children healthy
• Centre on Disabilities
• Teacher resources and lesson plans
• Council for Exceptional Children
• Database on Exceptional Children
• National Parent Information Network
• National Organization for Rare Disorders